[NLA] DC Logic in the Neo-Conservative Era

[Nashansen@aol.com]

To Andrea and George, to other NLA subscribers:

Look below these two emails for a brief response from 

Nancy Hansen
small town administrator of a
small community-based literacy council
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
sfliteracy at mcleodusa.net

In a message dated 10/22/2002 8:59:58 PM Central Daylight Time, 
Awilderast at aol.com writes:
<< Hi everyone,
  I like George's List.  I have read or have on my shelves about half, and 
 then some.  Most are social science, which still counts as ****science**** 
so 
 can we please leave that argument where it fell?  Or do we have to keep 
 pounding on it?
 
 My favorite book these days is "Dyslexia, Fluency, and the Brain."  It is 
 full of pre and post testing, interventions, and brain imaging.  I think the 
 conclusions will be quite useful for day to day teachers once I translate 
the 
 findings into everyday language.  I listen carefully to what Art and Nancy 
 say, because they represent day to day teachers, and what I do has to make 
 sense to them or it is useless.  I wish more teaching teachers would speak 
up.
 
 So.....my question on reading George's List:  for who is everyone else 
 writing?  Thinking?  Arguing? Day to day teachers?  Policy makers?  
 Administrators?  
 
 Andrea >>

PLUS the illustrious conclusion FOLLOWING "The List" from George himself:
<< Question:  Is defining legitimacy in education exclusively from the
perspective of "scientific rigor"  congruent with the best scholarship in
the field of adult literacy studies over the past 100 years or is it more
of a reflection of a conservative political and intellectual reaction to
route out the very basis upon which a century of progressive scholarship
is based?

To put it more polemically for those who want to install a litmus test of
"scientific rigor" as the sole means of determining legitimacy for
educational studies, I recommend a public book burning in Washington D.C.
of the list aforementioned and a closing down of the nation's graduate
schools in education.

George Demetrion
of the dissenting tradition >>
..............................................................................

...................................................................

Andrea stated The List acknowledges a scientific base, so to speak.  George 
listed the books, then recommended a "public book burning".  I don't want to 
"pound on it" either, Andrea.  First, it's too late at night and, secondly, 
we have all afore let it be known we of the NLA listserv are of wide and 
varying opinions.

In my view,"scientific rigor" and studies to confirm who and what works with 
whom and which peoples will not reveal any more current information than has 
been studied in the past 100 years or which exist as an unverified technique. 
 Instead we need to come to a point where we realize "the statistical data" 
that is proclaimed as the important stuff of adult education/literacy is 
*actually* individual human *beings*.  They come with a whole lot of 
individual needs. "Legitimizing" adult education is a moot point. Teachers 
and tutors use the methods which work with individuals with limited literacy 
skills - forget the recipe card, folks!  There isn't one in my opinion.

I'm with you, George.  Let's burn down the nation's graduate schools of 
education.  (Whoops!  Guess you said "*shut* down".)  As a nation let's 
rebuild something that vaguely resembles a work-training program so that our 
nation's instructors are better prepared to go into the educational 
environment and hold the precious gold of our children in skilled hands, 
rather than have those children end up in an adult literacy program 20 years 
down the road.

As for Andrea's questions?  Here goes:
<< So.....my question on reading George's List:  for who is everyone else 
 writing?  Thinking?  Arguing? Day to day teachers?  Policy makers?  
 Administrators?  >>

Who am I writing FOR?  Thinking OF?  
    The answer:  My small group of most-deserving men and women learners who 
are gallantly toiling to achieve their own educational goals and make up for 
their own lost years of time.  This afternoon I spoke with a newly placed 
tutor volunteer whose biggest, immediate challenge will be to Assist in 
Building the Self-Image of her new learner, a wonderfully talented 
70-year-old adult male who has lost faith in himself and his capabilities.

Who do I write for?  I'm not an illustrious author with fine, immense and 
colorful vocabulary that amazes all who open the pages of my works.  Instead 
I tell the story of real people who hurt and cry, who smile and thrive, who 
take joy in small accomplishments.  They are rich in the lives they do 
**not** take for granted.  They take *pleasure* in small rewards - something 
as little as learning the meaning of a **single** word, which they have said 
all their lives to express themselves, but never knew how to look up in the 
dictionary.  No scientific methodology needed HERE!

Who am I arguing for?  I argue for the adult learner and their special 
volunteer who have a gift of a spectacular relationship in a one-to-one 
tutoring circumstance that will turn around a world for the adult with 
limited literacy skills.  They deserve the best of materials and the most 
positive and supportive programming, all of which costs money.  I argue that 
this individualized educational approach works - that for perhaps the first 
TIME an adult is seeing the fruits of his/her labor of being taught!  I argue 
that the policy makers need to take us practitioners and administrators more 
seriously - we KNOW about which we SPEAK!  

I guess I'll continue to shout until someone listens to me as an individual 
with just a tiny bit of experience to share.  I'm with you, Andrea.  I also 
wish other teachers and volunteers of real people would feel more free -- 
more liberated -- to speak out for what they believe to be truth.

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